mm 



■MB 










LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




OOOlQim?? 




E^9 

Book *L4£J 



BOUNTY LANDS 



TO THE 



§TOTT?2ST0 ©STCTCXEKft 






OF THE 



LATE WAR, 



THE 



SECOND OF INDEPENDENCE, 



±ND TO THE WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF THOSE WHO WERE 

KILLED IN At I ION, OK WHO DIM* IN SERVICE 

OR SUBSEQUENT TO THE WAR. 



—"*«» 



kew-york: 
printed by william g rattan, 

.No. 8, ThamtS'Stieet. 



1826. 



\ 



TO THL 



OFFICERS OF THE LATE WAR, 



fs 



THE 







I 



£2»S©S?2E) @s* BSTD)3HP!SSfJB)!BITCBfc 

THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS HAD IN REFERENCE 
TO AN APPLICATION TO 



Ksa 






For Lands in remuneration for arduous services, severe sufferings, 
and consequent losses, are respectfuliy submitted and recom- 
mended to thsir especial attention, by the committee of 
correspondence, in the city of New- York, duly 
appointed by a meeting of officers, held on 
the 15th September, A. D. 1826. 



nitw-york: 

printed by william grattan, 

No. 8, Thxmcs-sireet. 
1826. 



! 

-v . 






' t 
1 f < 









. 



FIRST GENERAL MEETING 



At a meeting of the officers of the late war, 
convened by notice in the public papers, at the 
Broadway-house, in the city of New-York, on the 
3d day of January 1826, to take into considera- 
tion the expediency of presenting a respectful peti- 
tion to Congress, praying for a grant of public 
lands, agreeably to rank and former practice, as 
a reward for their services, sufferings, and losses, 
during the second war of Independence : Major 
George Howard, of the 25th regiment, was called 
to the chair ; and Captain M. Myers, of the 13th 
regiment, was chosen Secretary. The objects of 
the meeting being stated in an address from Cap- 
tain Myers, it was unanimously resolved, that it is 
expedient to present a respectful memorial to Con- 
grees, praying for lands, as a reward for past ser- 
vices, &jc, whereupon Gen. R. Bogardus, Col. 
Clarkson Crolius, Major George Howard, and 
Captains M. M. Quackenboss and M. Myers, were 
chosen a committee to draft and forward a me- 
morial, with powers to correspond, and to do all 
things necessary to promote the success of the ap- 
plication. Col. Crolius was also chosen Treasurer, 
and the monies collected towards the expenses of 
establishing the claim, were paid over to him^ 
and then the meeting adjourned sine die. 



FIRST IVSEETINCr 

OP THE 



The committee appointed by the general meet- 
ing of the officers of the late war, held on the 3d 
day of January 1826, met at the house of Capt. 
M. Myers, on the 8th day of January 1826 ; all 
present, except Gen. Bogardus. The draft of a 
petition was read, approved, and adopted, where- 
upon Major Howard, the chairman, stated that he 
was willing to proceed on to the city of Washing- 
ton, with the petition, and would use his best en- 
deavors to secure success to the application, on 
being paid part of his expenses : it was therefore 
resolved, that the members of this committee will 
advance twenty dollars each, making one hundred 
dollars, for the above purpose, and Gen. Bogardus 
being absent, the four members present paid to the 
treasurer the sum of twenty -five dollars each, to be 
in part refunded when Gen. Bogardus shall have 
paid his proportion, and then Major Howard took 
charge of the petition, and promised to proceed 
immediately to Washington, and the committee 
adjourned. 

Second Meeting of the Committee. 



At a meeting of the committee, held on the 
18th day of February 1826, at the house of Col. 
Crolius ; all the members present, except Gen. 
Bogardus. Major Howard reported that he had 



caused to be presented to Congress, the memorial 
of the officers as adopted by the committee, and 
stated tnat the prospects were flattering and pro- 
mising ; he also reported, that finding that other 
officers and meetings had appointed Col. Joseph 
Watson, of Washington city, their agent, to man- 
age a similar application, he had entrusted the pe- 
tition to his charge, as general agent, and believing 
that the success of the application would be 
promoted by adding the names of Col. J. Watson, 
Col Joseph L. Smith, Col. Gilbert C. Russell, 
and Col. James R. Mullany to the committee, 
their names had been so affixed to the petition, ap- 
prizing the committee, that Col. Watson, from his 
situation at Washington, and from his talents and 
zeal in the cause, had been and will continue to be 
of great service in forwarding the claim, where- 
upon, 

Resolved, That the committee highly approve 
of all that Major Howard, our chairman, has done 
whilst at Washington. 

Major Howard presented his bill of expenses, 
amounting to one hundred and six dollars and 
twenty-five cents, on which, having received from 
the committee one hundred dollars, 

Resolved, That the balance be paid by the 
treasurer. 

Resolved also, That the thanks of the committee 
be tendered to Major Howard, for his diligence 
and assiduity in going to Washington with ihe 
memorial of the officers, and for his strict atten- 
tion to the business whilst there ; and then the 
committee adjourned. 



A 2 



SECOND GENERAL MEETING. 

At a meeting of the officers of the late war, 
held on tbe 15th day of September 1826, at the 
Shakspeare Tavern, in the City of New- York, on 
the special call of the Chairman, Major Howard 
took the chair and called the meeting to order, and 
having, as Chairman of the Committee, made a 
report of its proceedings to the meeting, he called 
upon Colonel Watson, the General Agent at the 
seat of government, who attended the meeting by 
special invitation, for information as to the pro- 
ceedings, subsequent to his departure from Wash- 
ington, whereupon Colonel Watson addressed the 
meeting, and gave a detailed account of the pro- 
ceedings before Congress in respect to the claim, 
especially as to the favorable report of the Se- 
lect Committee, and, among other things, stated 
that the Military Committee, to which in the 
due course of business, the petition was referred, 
asked and obtained leave to return it to the House 
without a report, on the special ground that a ma- 
jority of the Committee were interested in the ap- 
plication ; It was then referred to the Committee 
on public lands, from which, on account of the un- 
usual press of business before that Committee, it 
was withdrawn by a reference to a Select Com- 
mittee of seven, at the head of which, was that 
indefatigable and enlightened member, Colonel 
Daniel P. Cook. He further stated, that a similar 
petition had been forwarded and presented to Con- 
gress, in behalf of a meeting of officers at Albany, 
of which Col. Elisha Jenkins was Chairman. 

Captain Myers and Captain Quackenboss then 
in turn addressed the meeting, and each closed 
with a request that Colonel Watson would read to 
the meeting, the statement, made by him to the 



Select Committee of Congress, at the request of 
Colonel Cook, the Chairman, in which request the 
meeting concurring, Colonel Watson read the 
same, which was highly approved of, and fully 
sanctioned by the meeting. The following reso- 
lutions were then offered by Captain Myers, and 
unanimously adopted, and ordered to be extended 
on the minutes, viz. 

1st. Resolved, That it is expedient that the 
officers of the late war, whether in or out of ser- 
vice, co-operate, with all their influence, in the 
object of the petition heretofore presented to 
Congress in their behalf: and that it be recom- 
mended to them to hold meetings at their re- 
spective posts, or in their respective congressional 
districts, and to forward to the seat of government 
concurrent memorials, and letters to members of 
Congress, and to such distinguished officers as are 
residents or may be at the seat of government 
during the next session of Congress. 

2d. Resolved, That Col. Crolius, Major Howard, 
Major G. Smith, Dr Samuel Akerly, Captains 
Myers and Quackenboss, be a Committee of Cor- 
respondence, with full powers to address commu- 
nications to such officers of the late war, whether 
in or out of service, as they may deem expedient, 
and conducive to the interest of the whole, re- 
questing their co-operation, and that similar Com- 
mittees may be appointed to correspond with this 
Committee and the agent at the seat of government. 

3d. Resolved, That Dr. Samuel Akerly be Sec- 
retary to the Committee 

4th. Resolved, That the above named Committee, 
be authorized to publish the memorial to Con- 
gress, the statement laid before the select con>- 
mittee of Congress at its last session, by the 
general agent at Washington, Colonel Watson, 



8 

and such other documents and precedents in sup- 
port of the claim, as they may deem necessary 

5th. Resolved, That Col, Joseph Watson, of the 
city of Washington, receive the thanks of this 
meeting, for his services, and be requested to con- 
tinue his exertions in furtherance of the claim, and 
to use every fair and honorable means in behalf 
of all the officers of the late war, to obtain the 
passage of a law in their favor. 

6th. Resolved, That the officers interested in the 
result of the claim, being all those who served to the 
close, of the late war, whether of the staffer line, or 
whether now in or out of the service, be requested 
to pay into the hands of or remit to Col. Crolius, 
the Treasurer of this meeting, the sum of five dol- 
lars, or such sum as they can appropriate towards 
defraying the expenses of printing, postages, and 
other necessary incidental charges, and that the 
Committee of Correspondence be authorized to 
audit and direct the payment to be made by said 
Treasurer, of all such necessary and reasonable 
bills as may be presented. 

7th. W 7 hereas, this meeting have understood, that 
the Hon. George E. Mitchell, and the Hon. Aaron 
Ward, have evinced much interest in behalf of the 
application of their late companions in arms — 
Therefore, 

ResAved, That this meeting duly appreciate 
their obligations to them, and that the Chairman 
and Secretary be requested to address letters to 
them, express ve of the sense of this meeting, and 
soliciting a continuance of their aid in furtherance 
of the prayer of the petition. 

8th Resolvid. That from and after the first day 
of October ensuing, die officers of the late army will 
meet at the Shakspeare Tavern, corner of Nassau 
and Fulton streets, on the first Monday in every 



month, at 8 o'clock P. M. to receive reports and 
transact such other business as may be brought 
before them. 

By order M. MYERS, Secretary. 



IflEIttORIAIi, 



To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States, in Congress assembled. 

The Memorial of the undersigned, Committee on be- 
half of the Officers of the Army of the United 
States, during the second War of Independence, 
respectfully represent and sheweth : 

That the Continental Congress, by its resolu- 
tions of the sixteenth of September, one thousand 
seven hundred and seventy-six, did provide, That 
the officers and soldiers of the war of Independ- 
ence should receive a bounty in land : That many 
of the States of the Union, viz : Massachusetts, 
New-York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and 
North Carolina, following the generous impulse, 
and appreciating alike the services, sacrifices, and 
sufferings of the officers and soldiers, did, from 
time to time, provide liberal bounties in land, for 
their respective State lines in Continental service. 
That Congress did, by a resolution of the four- 
teenth of August, one thousand seven hundred and 
seventy-six, promise a bounty in land, to those who 
should leave the armies of his Britannic Majesty 
in America, and should choose to become mem- 
bers of any of those States : That by resolutions 
of the twenty-third of April, one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-three, and the seventh of April, 
one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, 
Congress did provide, that refugees from Canada 
and Nova Scotia should receive bounty in land. 



10 



and has, by various subsequent acts and regula- 
tions, carried into effect the said laws, so passed 
by its own body : That by an act of the twenty- 
fourth of December, one thousand eight hundred 
and eleven, and the acts supplementary thereto, 
the same bounty and liberality was extended to the 
soldiers of the late war, in which the undersigned 
served : That by the second section of the act of 
the sixth of February, one thousand eight hundred 
and twelve, the heirs of volunteer soldiers who 
were killed in action, or died in actual service of 
the United States, during the late war, were each 
promised one hundred and sixty acres of land : 
That under the provisions of the act of the fifth of 
March, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, 
citizens of the United States, who were inhabitants 
of Canada at the commencement of the late war, 
and who, during the said war, joined the armies of 
the United States as volunteers, were promised 
bounty land in the following proportions, viz : To 
each colonel, nine hundred and sixty acres ; to 
each major, eight hundred acres ; to each captain, 
six hundred and forty acres ; to each subaltern 
officer, four hundred and eighty acres ; and to the 
medical and other staff, according to their pay ; 
and were authorised to iocate their claims, in 
quarter sections, on any of the unappropriated 
lands of the Uuited States. 

The undersigned have in vain sought for rea- 
sons which should deprive the officers of the 
second war of Independence of the same munifi- 
cence which was extended by the United States, 
and by several of the States, to those of the first. 
— They held the same stake, they exhibited the 
same valor and love of liberty, and although they 
may not as a body, have suffered as much, yet their 
zeal was not less, nor their exertions less willing. 



ii 

If they did not, like the refugees, flee the realms 
of oppression to share the promised boon, and 
snatch relief from liberty's rule, they had to pro- 
tect the tree which their fathers planted, and to 
resist the gigantic efforts which were made to 
check its growth, and to re-colonize the soil which 
imparted luxuriance to its branches. If the sol- 
diers of the late war, and the heirs of volunteers 
who were killed, or died, had claims on the boun- 
ty of the Nation, why have not the officers whose 
skill and industry, by daily toil and sleepless 
nights, brought them into the field, and drilied 
th* m into efficiency, or those who ministered to 
their wants, or wntched over their health, claims 
equally strong? 

If citizens who abandoned the enemy of their 
country, and arrayed themselves in her ranks, 
have met favor in your halls, will you be deaf to 
the appeal of those who sought the enemy on his 
own soil, foiled the discipline which conquered 
that first of warriors who sleeps on a distant rock, 
and who, in risking or surrendering their lives, 
have added another plume to the cap of Liberty, 
another leaf to the archives of the nation's fame. 

The undersigned presume to answer for your 
honorable body, vou will not. Buoved up by the 
justice of their claim, and encouraged by the many 
precedents in their favor, and the further conside- 
ration that the laws did not allow them to share 
in the capture of munitions of war, and other 
valuable public stores, they appeal with confidence 
to your liberality, and to the gratitude of the na- 
tion at this auspicious period of their country's his- 
tory, and pray that lands may be granted to those 
officers of the late war who served to its close, and 
to the heirs of those who were killed or d'ed in 
service, in proportion at least equal to the quanti- 



*> 



ties allowed to the Canadian volunteers, and that 
they be permitted to locate their claims on any of 
the unappropriated lands of the United States, or 
to file their warrants in payment of any lands which 
nave hitherto been purchased from the United 
States and now remain unpaid for. 

And vour memorialists further beg leave respect- 
fully o suggest, that many of the officers of the late 
army were entitled to promotion long previous to 
the close of the war ; but, although in many cases 
they discharged duties in a higher grade than they 
received pay for, yet in consequence of the nume- 
rous vacancies not having been filled up by pro- 
motions, they left the army in many cases in the 
same grade in which they entered it, arising, in 
part, from a consolidation of the old peace estab- 
lishment with the army of twenty-five thousand 
raised in one thousand eight hundred and twelve, 
contrary to the expectations of the officers of that 
armv. 

And your memorialists conceive, that if the 
foregoing prayer be granted, it would not be un- 
reasonable to ask a proportion of laud for each 
officer according to the grade he of right was en- 
titled to, had the vacancies been filled up at the 
close of the laie war. 

As in duty bound, your memorialists will ever 

prav. 

ROBERT BOGARDUS, 

GEORGE HOWAFD, 
CLARKSON CROLIUS, 
M. MYERS, 

M. M. QUArKENBOSS, 
J. R MULLANY, 
JOSEPH L. SMITH, 
GILBERT C RUSSELL, 
JOSEPH WATSON, for himself and sundry Officers. 
January 30, 1826. 






13 



>*£ 



g s 
5 3 



STAT^MrsafT 



f>V THE GENERAL AGENT TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE 

OF COJVGRE!?S. 



Washington City, March 18, 1826. 

Honorable Daniel P. Cooke, Chairman of the Select 
Committee, on the petition of the Officers of the 
Late War. 

Sir : Such have been the peremptory calls in 
the more immediate line of my business, that, not- 
withstanding your polite invitation to submit to 
the honourable committee over which you preside, 
my views, as to the claims of the officers who 
served to the close of the war, emphatically and 
appropriately termed the second of Independence, 
I have not until this day, been enabled to enter 
upon the task, not the less acceptable, on account 
of the confidence reposed in me by many of my 
late companions in service, but one, which I feel 
that I shall not discharge in a manner worthy of 
the subject, or satisfactory even to my own wishes, 
I must, therefore, throw myself on their indulgence, 
and on the ability and disposition of the com- 
mittee to supply any deficiency of research, or of 
matter. It will be seen by the preamble of the 
petition, that the precedents are numerous in sur>- 
port of the claim, and by the exhibit of allowances 
hereto annexed, that they were liberal, and that 
the prayer of the petitioners, aspires but little be- 
yond the minimum of that liberality, so honorable 
to, and so magnanimous on the part of the Uuited 
States, and of the States, respectively, who eager- 
ly adopted the recommendation of Congress to 
that effect. If it should be urged) that this bene- 
ficence was but the consummation of previous pro- 
mises, it may be asked, whether this was the case 

B 



14 

in reference to the grants made under the king's 
proclamation of 1763? What previous promise 
was given to Lewis and Clarke ? Had the Ameri- 
cans, who left the enemy's territories during the 
late war to join our armies, any such allure to 
their patriotism ? The grant to Lewis and Clarke, 
and that to the officers and soldiers under Colonel 
Rogers Clarke, who marched against the posts of 
Kaskaskias and Vincennes, (see deed of cession 
from Virginia to the United States,) establish the 
fact, that grants of land have been made for ser- 
vices, in no degree of beiigerant nature, or for 
such, not incident to an authorised state of warfare. 
(No. 1.) It may with propriety be questioned 
whether there is more of policy, of justice, or of 
benevolence, which are assumed, as leadino mo- 
tives for the acts of nations, for bestowing lands, 
for the civilizing of Indians, (see resolutions of the 
10th of May, 1785, and 27th July, 1787,) for 
the encouragement of desertion from the ene- 
my, (see resolutions of the 14th August. 1776,) 
or for exploring the wilderness dominion of this 
nation, than there would be in imparting a boon 
to those who rallied around their country's stan- 
dard, when her rights were assailed, or her inde- 
pendence was to be sustained, or visiting the af- 
fliction of the widow, or lessening tSie deprivation 
of the child, with the smiles of voluntary and un- 
pledged gratitude. To say, in the fulness of 
stoicism, that the honor of wearing an epaulette, 
will, as it has, produce more applications for com- 
missions than can be gratified, is not to prove that 
s'.;ch an inducement, will, alone, have charms for 
the experienced and meritorious officer, who. by the 
solitary exception from olden precedents, (No. 2.) 
will feel himself treated with cold neglect, or that 
there are not widows and orphans deprived of the 



15 

means of support, or or of those of education, by 
the loss of a husband, or a father, in consequence 
of disease contracted in the service. 

But, sir, whatever considerations my own feel- 
ings may induce me to urge in behalf of the widow, 
or the orphan, I would only address the policy, 
and the justice of the nation, in behalf of my fel- 
low officers — I appeal then, sir, to the grounds on 
which the officers of the navy were, and are still, 
allowed to share in the captures they make. The 
officers of the army claim no loftier motives or in- 
centives to valor or ardor, to adorn the escutcheon 
of their country, than the officers of the navy ; yet 
without the all-powerful hope of gain, coupled 
with the allure of glory, it is believed when duty 
called, or fame beckoned, they have not been 
backward to advance If a ship sinks, or is blown 
up, in the lap of victory, the officers who reach the 
enemy's ship as victors, find themselves amply 
rewarded for their exertions, or the loss of their 
baggage ; but if an army which may be besieged 
in a fort, makes a sortie, conquers and takes the 
whole force of the enemy, and at the moment the 
commanding officer surrenders his sword, a ball 
from some ship co-operating with the enemy, 
shoidd blow up the magazine, and destroy the fort, 
the officers would not, by existing laws, be en- 
titled even to pay for their baggage. Ask those 
who conquered the allied forces of the British and 
Indians at Browntown, and they will not shrink 
from a comparison with the navy ; appeal to those 
who advanced unappalled on the works at York, 
whilst destruction was lighting its train under them, 
and they will marvel why the navy should share 
to their exclusion, in the captures made by (heir 
valour ; ask those who so repeatedly at Bridge- 
water, presented the bosom of freeman, to the bay-^ 



16 

onets which bristled in the gleam of action, and 
who boldly turned the main battery of the enemy 
against them, and they will emphatically exclaim, 
have we neither done nothing to place our claims 
on a footing with the navy f What, sir, will the 
defenders of Orleans and Plattsbtirgh say, when 
they recal to mind the favor the defenders of Fort 
Bowyer met with in your halls ? The latter in de- 
fending the fortress destroyed a ship ; each of the 
former saved a State. Could the prowess of the 
hero of Oswego have been mora conspicuous if 
the deck of a frigate had been its theatre ? It was, 
no doubt, considerations of this kind, that induced 
the military committee, on the 13th December 
1816, to report a bill, granting a bounty in land, 
to the officers, which was only lost by a slender ma- 
jority. If enough has been advanced to establish 
the fact, that it is equally just as expedient, to grant 
the prayer of the petition in any shape, it remains, 

1st. To consider the manner and extent of the 
grant ; 

2d The mode and place of location ; 

3d. The influence that such an act of liberal jus- 
tice will have in the event of another war. as also 
the consequences, both of an individual and pub- 
lic nature. 

1st. Then as to the manner and extent of the 
ground. In the bill that I have taken the liberty 
to sketch, I have assumed the general principle, 
that all the officers who served to the close of the 
war, shall receive a bounty in laud in equal quan- 
tities according to iheir respective grades. But it 
may be well to inquire, whether it would not be 
proper to class them according to their term of 
service, giving to those who served throughout the 
war, the maximum quantity, and to those who 
served only from the 4th of July, 1814, the mi- 



17 

liimum allowance. Tn the event of the death of' 
the officer, this bill provides that^n?*, the widow, 
and then the child or children >hall be entitled to 
the iand, which principle is engrafted in the 2d 
section of the act of the 5th of March, 1816, rela- 
tive to the Canadian Volunteers, and in the act of 
the State of Pennsylvania, granting land to her 
officers and soldiers. It limits the bounty to those 
whose situations may most likely be ameliorated 
by it, being more immediately dependent on the 
husband or the father. But it is by no means 
contended that it would not be politic to provide 
for the representatives in more remote degrees, al- 
though it is believed that they have not such strong 
claims on the benevolent liberality of the country. 
The bill proposes also, to add one quarter section 
to the absolute grant, on condition that the same 
shall adjoin the former, and be actually settled 
within five or ten vears. The effect of this would 
be, to increase the probability of creating a settle- 
ment distinguished alike for enterprize and mili- 
tary experience. 

2d. rfs to the mode and place of location : 
Could the difficulty as to the lands unfit, for culti- 
vation be overcome, the course most advantngtous 
to the government would be to designate some two 
surveys, the one in Michigan, (say on the St. 
Joseph of Lake Michigan) for the officers north 
of the Potomac, and the other in Arkansas, (say 
in the Quapaw purchase) for the officers south of 
the Potomac, with the right, however, to ocate 
in either, reserving to the government every al- 
ternate tract, in such manner that opposite to each 
tract granted, shall be one of equal size reserved. 
The next mode would be to increase the surveys 
to four, one in Illinois, between the mouth of Ver- 
million river and Lake Michigan, and the other 

B 2 



18 

in Florida, between the Appalachicola and Ausilly 
rivers, without any restriction as to the location. 
The other method, and that adopted in the bill, 
is to permit the location on any public lands west 
of the Mississippi, (as in he case of Lewis and 
Clarke,) or on any unappropriated lands in In- 
diana or Michigan, and to receive the warrants 
in payment of any such public lands at the mini- 
mum price of the public lands. The warrants 
issued to the companions of Lewis and Clarke 
were so received It will be recollected that in 
the case of the Canadian volunteers, the location 
could be made wt upon any of the unappropriated 
lands of the United States, within the Indiana 
territory." 

Now, 3d. Jis to the influence that such an act 
of liberality may have in the event of another 
war, as also the consequences, both of an individu- 
al and public nature : In the outset, the regret 
arises, that the exertions of that soldier's friend, 
himself a soldier, occupying a prominent rank in 
the annals of fame, (Col. Johnson) did not succeed 
in 1816, as then, that sympathy ol feeling always 
existing between the officers and soldiers, would 
have induced many of the latter to have joined 
the officers, in subduing the forests, and increasing 
the strength and wealth of the country. How far 
the condition of settlement, as to a portion of the 
grant, would promote emigration, can best be 
determined by recurrence to that enterprise which 
strikes into every avenue which leads to toil and 
profit. It cannot be doubted that the officer who 
shall thus improve, will induce others to settle his 
remaining tract, and that the U. States will derive 
a consequent appreciation of their lands in the 
vicinity, beyond the value of all the land with 
which they may have parted. That such would be 



10 

the case to a greater extent, were the locations 
made in alternate tracts, admits not of a question. 
What has been ibe effect of granting donations to 
actual settlers in the neighboring province of Up- 
per Canada? Have not towns sprung up as it by 
enchantment? lias not that government increased 
its means of commanding that sinew of war — 
money? Is there nothing in policy, in regard to a 
future state of war, that points to the expediency 
of advancing a cordon of freemen equal numeri- 
cal, as well as m pecuniary strength ? Settlements 
beget the necessity of roads ; roads increase the 
facility of communication ; and can any statesman 
forget the ruinous expenditures that the want of 
them created during the late war? The public 
lands should never be relied upon as a source of 
immediate revenue ; they may, however, be made 
instrumental to the same result, by imparting 
wealth to individuals, by augmenting the perma- 
nent and available property of die nation, and by 
creating additional resources, to be drawn upon in 
any emergency. What resources can be drawn 
from nature's uncultivated forests. They may 
impede the march of our armies, and afford an 
ambush for the savage foe, but they neither im- 
part strength, nor afford protection to the fron- 
tiers. It has been truly said that money is the 
sinew of war; but is not a confidence in the jus- 
tice, or if you please, in the magnanimity of the 
government, the nerve of that sinew? When the 
officer reflects on his impaired constitution and 
his dreary prospects in future life, let him know, 
by pa->t acts of liberality, that the days of his 
toil, and the night: of his vigilance will find a re- 
ward in the magnanimous gratitude of his country, 
and he and his children will be found at the post 
of danger when that country calls. — It will be the 



20 



strongest tie that can bind him to her service, and 
his consolation amidst privations, sufferings and 
disease. He will know that his family will Dot 
sink into the abyss of penury, as soon as he sinks 
into the grave, by disease contracted in the 
discharge of his duty. His imagination will not 
be turned to this gloomy reverse of the picture. 
The trumpet of peace will gladden his heart, and 
however his means of subsistence may have been 
reduced or his habits injured by the excitements 
or privations of a camp, his little patrimony will 
be the stay of bis hope. He will be encouraged 
to exertion, and will not waste in idleness and de- 
spair the energies of his mind. Look around in 
community, sir, and you will find, that in propor- 
tion to the original number, and making a reason- 
able allowance for the lapse of time, there are even 
now more officers of the revolution alive, than of 
the late war. Of the 29th Regiment of Infantry, 
I am informed, that there are but 1 3 officers sur- 
viving. It is true that many of them sought em- 
ployment in South America and died there in 
defence of the sacred principles of freedom. But 
if the principle of the bill is adopted this will 
necessarily lessen the number to be provided for, 
as it is reasonable to presume that other regiments 
have been diminished in like manner Patriotism, 
sir, ha** its sacred claims on the citizens of every 
free cou .try, but even patriotism looks to conse- 
quences ; and a nation should ever seek to create 
streams tributary to its fountain, the general 
good. Ours is the only country in which officers 
are liable to be discharged after a war, without 
any provision for th<^»n. This though probably 
unjust, is certainly for the interest of the great 
mass of the people ; but to check the dis- 
couraging reflection that the pursuits of arms is 



21 



not a profession in this country, would it not be 
just, would it not be wise, and would it not add 
to the security of the whole, in the day of adver- 
sity and trial, that the government should be 
liberal to her disbanded officers, when it can be 
done without oppressing the citizens ? 1 will in- 
dulge, sir, no further in the train of reflec ions 
which press upon my mind, but will commit the 
fate of my brother officers, and my own, to the 
wise and liberal considerations of a committee, 
from whose intelligence and enlarged views we 
have every thing to hope and nothing to fear. 

I am, sir, with high considerations of respect, 
yours and the committees most devoted and obe- 
dient humble servant, 



JOSEPH WATSON, Agent. 



ALLOWANCES 

UNDER THE SEVERAL RESOLUTIONS AND ACTS REFERRED TO. 



JVo. 1, King's proclamation of 1 763. 

Acres. 

To every officer ranking as a field officer 5,000 

every captain 3.000 

every subaltern or staff officer 2,000 



JVo. 2, Resolutions of the 14th and 27 th Aug. 1776, 

To a colonel 1,000 

a lieutenant colonel 800 

a major 600 

a captain 400 

a lieutenant 300 

an ensign 20f> 



22 



No. 3, Resolutions of the iGth Sept. 1776. 
To a major general 1,100 

a brigadier general 850 

a director of hospital , 500 

a colonel 500 

a chief physician and purveyor-general 450 

a lieutenant colonel 450 

a physician, surgeon, and apothecary 400 

a major 400 
a reg. sur., ass. to purv. and apothecary 300 

a captain 300 

a hospital reg. surgeon's mate 200 

a lieutenant 200 

an ensign 150 



No. 4, Massachusetts. 




Quantities not ascertained with precision. 




No. 5, New-York. 




To a major general 


5,500 


a brigadier general 


4,250 


a colonel 


2,500 


a lieutenant colonel 


2,350 


a major 


2.000 


a captain or regimental surgeon 


1,500 


every subaltern and surgeon's mate 


1,000 



No. 6, Pennsylvania. 
To a maior general 
a brigadier general 
a colonel 

a lieutenant colonel 
surgeons, majors, and chaplains, each 
a captain 
a lieutenant 



No. 7, Maryland. 
Alike to officers of all grades 



2,000 
1,500 
1,000 
750 
G00 
500 
300 



200 



Pfl 



23 

No. 8, Virginia. 
To a major general 15,000 
a brigadier general 10,000 
a colonel 5.000 
a lieutenant colonel 4.500 
a major 4.000 
a captain 3,000 
a subaltern 2,000 
By an act of October, 1778, one third was ad- 
ded to those quantities, and by another act one 
sixth more. 



No, 9, Narth- Carolina. 
To a brigadier general 12,000 

a colonel, lieut. coL com't, or chaplain 7,200 

a lieutenant colonel, 5,760 

a major or surgeon, 4,800 

a captain, 3,840 

a surgeon's mate, 2,560 

a subaltern, 2,500 

REDOUT 

9F THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF CONGRFSS, FAVORABLE TO 
THE PRAYER OF THE MEMORIAL, VIZ.: 



May 17, 1826, Mr. Cook, from the select committee 
to which was referred the petition of sundry officers 
of the army of the late war, made the following 
report : 

The select committee, to which was referred the pe- 
tition of sundry officers of the army of the late war, 
praying a grant of land, in consideration of their 
sacrifices and services, report : 

That it is deemed by the committee but fair 
and reasonable that the merits of their claim 



24 

should be duly investigated and considered by the 
House. Their severe and arduous services, in 
the momentous struggle in which they were en- 
gaged) entitles their application to (he most libe- 
ra) consideration that justice and sound policy 
will allow. With a view, therefore, to bring the 
subject fairly before the House, and that it may 
acton the question, unincumbered by detail-;, the 
committee propose to the House the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, That it is expedient to make provi- 
sion by law for granting to each of the officers of 
army, who served during the late war, a (:s.r ( :jtity 
of land according to their rank, as a remunera- 
tion for their sacrifices, sufferings and faithful 
services. 



kJ«?Jr AsJc-'-xt 



" 



No. 1. It is believed ;hat in the case of Co- 
lonel Rogers Clarke, so far from the expedition 
being authorized, it was undertaken on his own 
responsibility, with a view to the protection of the 
frontiers. 

No- 2. That the government has made grants 
of land in consideration of services, where no pre- 
vious promise existed, is also proved by many laws 
spread on the statute books of the nation, from 
which may be singled out the cases of a foreigner, 
who volunteered his services in the attack on 
Derne, and of Lieutenant Presley, O'Bannon, 
then of the marine corps, receiving pay, as did the 
officers of the late war, and between whose case 
and that of many of them no discrimination can be 
drawn on the score of the importance or brilliancy 
of the service. The case of Dorhman, a merchant 
of Lisbon, who besides pay for his supplies to the 



25 

government, received also land. The motives 
which conduced to these grants, apply in the ab- 
stract to the present claim ; they looked to the 
importance of inspiring zeal and emulation in the 
discharge of duties on which the welfare of the 
nation depended. 

So also did the act of the Legislature of Penn- 
sylvania, of the 7th of March, 1781 ; and that of 
the State of North Carolina, passed in 1782, both 
being posterior in date to the services they were 
intended to reward : the first, granted lands to all 
officeis and soldiers of the Pennsylvania line or of 
Independent corps (partizans, such as Armand's 
De haas' &tc.) acknowledged as the quota of Penn- 
s} r lvania in the federal army, and all officers, being 
citizens of that state at the time of entering the 
service, not attached to the line of any other 
State, who may serve to the close of the war, and 
all officers, as aforesaid, who have been deranged 
by the resolutions and arrangements of the army, 
according to the act of Congress, passed in the 
month of October, 1 7S0, or who may be at any 
subsequent period of the war ; also the widows 
and children of either of such officers or privates 
as mav have been slain or have died, &tc. in the 
service, shall be and they are hereby entitled to 
lands according to pay and rank (See No. 6, of 
the schedule of allowances). The second act, 
granted lands to each officer and soldier of 
the North Carolina line, on the Continental estab- 
lishment, who should continue to the close of the 
war, and to such as from wounds or bodily in- 
firmities shall have been or shall be rendered unfit 
for service (See No. 9, of the schedule allowances) 
and as conclusive evidence that the Legislature of 
North Carolina had fully appreciated and weighed 
the evil effects on the after prospects and life of the 



2G 

officers, as well as the injustice of suddenly throw- 
ing them upon the world without resources, the 
act of 1783 may be appealed to. It provides that 
all officers who have served with reputation for 
two years, or have been left out of the line on the 
redaction of their respective Corps, shall be enti- 
tled to the same proportion of land as those 
serving to the end of the war, estimating their time 
at seven years. Similar provisions have been en- 
grafted in the laws of Virginia. It is a fact worthy 
of notice, that in all the laws passed on the subject 
of Bounty lands for revolutionary services, the 
soldiers have invariably been coupled with the of- 
ficers. A different policy seems to have sprung 
into existence, as if to contrast the liberality of ad- 
versity with the ill-judged economy of prosperity. 
The law of 1 S 1 1 first made the distinction — ill- 
judged economy, for no political axiom can be 
more sound than that the parcelling out of pro- 
perty increases the wealth and resources of a na- 
tion. But for the genius of Jefferson, who saw in 
the abolition of the barbarous laws of primoge- 
niture, the dawn of individual prosperity, what 
would have now been the thraldom in which 
the many would have been held to the few ? 
Whilst his name is lisped by infantine lips, let not 
the influence of his precepts, teaching as they do 
by example, be lost with the sages and statesmen 
of the nation. J. W. 

[The authentic list of the names of the Officers who were 
hilled or died in service during the late war, exceeding 
Four Hundred, is omitted for some future report and 
publication*] 



i 



IvW. 



